On Monday, April 10, KPR’s Morning Classical host Cordelia Brown was joined by a group of Fulbright award-winning musicians celebrating the music of Czechia, also known as the Czech Republic, ahead of a concert that was performed at the University of Kansas's Swarthout Recital Hall on April 11.
Pianist and Kansas native Isabel Keleti is a visiting artist from New York City with strong ties to Czech music. She has performed at several concert venues across Asia, the United States and Europe, including Renmin University in Beijing, Carnegie Hall and the National Museum in Prague, and is the winner of many prestigious performance awards. She is also the recipient of the 2021-2022 Fulbright award for her musical work.
Currently based in Berlin, Tomáš Jamník is a Czech cellist currently participating in the classical tradition, as well as contemporary music. He is currently a Fulbright Scholar in residence at Juilliard and NYU. Jamník's skills have also allowed him membership in several prominent Czech and international orchestras, including the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Philharmonia, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra London.
A Fulbright grantee to the Czech Republic in 2021–2022, soprano Bree Nichols is known for her performance of Czech vocal music and a diverse operatic repertoire. She has performed alongside the North Czech Philharmonic, Opera Pilsen, Symphony of the Mountains, Capitol City Opera, Opera Roanoke, Lewisville Lake Symphony, the Olomouc Baroque Festival, and more. When she isn't performing, Nichols is very active in her local community opera initiatives as the founder of Opera Arlington in Texas, as well as a participating faculty member of NTX Vocal Arts Exchange.
Artist biographies courtesy of the University of Kansas.
In case you missed it, enjoy more of their performance from the KPR Live Performance
Studio here.